Rebellion
by blueandblack
Summary: Katie and Effy, trying to get better. Written for The Queerly Awesome Ficathon on LJ. The prompt was 'You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter'.


Rebellion.

Effy has never been good at it. Back when her parents had standards, she would change into a mess at the end of the street. Tony's feet were perfect for her socks, and in the morning she was always ready, scrubbed-up, toast in hand.

They didn't know then.

And then, somehow, they didn't mind.

It's not rebellion if nobody knows and it's not rebellion if nobody minds.

She's pretty sure it's not rebellion if you can't help it, either - if you can't help yourself.

* * *

Katie has never been much good at rebellion either. Oh she'll do any damn thing she likes, thank you very much, but the trouble is that her mother and father have always approved so wholeheartedly of everything she's chosen to be - right down to _Sluts and Studs._ Right down to the skeevy older man thing she's into for a while.

Katie's not stupid enough to start killing herself with drugs, she likes her body too much to sell it. And it seems that nothing short of that will shake Mr and Mrs Fitch - not really - not all the way down.

Not even Emily.

_Not even Emily,_ Katie thinks with a fierce rolling of eyes.

_Emily_ was never supposed to be the wild one.

* * *

Katie lets Effy cling onto her and it's all about growing up. It's all about loving someone because you can. Because they need you to.

That is, until the day Effy breaks - right into her parents' liquor cabinet.

(Effy's parents - Katie's don't have one anymore.)

"Eff!" Katie says when she catches her. "What the _fuck!_" she says, and "Give it here!"

They dance around the room and Katie's furious and Effy is all chuckles and sighs, just like she used to be.

By the time she gets the bottle off her it's half-empty.

And then there's spliff, out of nowhere. And she's pretty sure there might have been a tab at some point too.

"Katieeeee," Effy croons, "Don't be mad. I'm just being _myself._ I'm just being the friend you always wanted. Right? This is what you always wanted us to be?"

Katie screeches in response. She gets to the phone a second before Effy can - _thank God_ - and calls the treatment centre.

They put her on hold - six fucking times. And when she finally gets through all they have to say is "You'd better bring her in."

"How the _fuck_ am I supposed to do that?" she snarls into the receiver.

The secretary tells her not to take that tone with her, _young lady,_ and that just unleashes another string of expletives.

The line goes dead.

When she calls back she gets a curt "Please hold."

* * *

"Effy. Effy. _EFFY!_"

She's on the floor, rolling back and forth between grins. She keeps pursing her fingertips together and opening them out - like a flower, Katie thinks - but every time Effy says _"Boom..."_

In the end Katie just lies down beside her. She's done trying to get her in the car, and nobody - _nobody_ is answering their fucking mobile.

Katie sighs. They'll ride it out. They'll lie here till Effy sobers up or falls asleep or till Anthea shows up - whichever comes first.

When _Anthea_ shows up there'll be a _conversation,_ Katie thinks.

She's still holding onto the bottle. She takes a swig. There's no reason she shouldn't. Normally she doesn't drink around Effy - to make it easier for her not to. But Effy's already smashed, isn't she? Katie doesn't see why she should just lie there, stone-cold fucking bored out of her mind.

So she drinks, just a little, just enough to take the edge off.

(Her nose wrinkles - she hates that expression - and also, straight, warmish vodka is honestly just vile.)

* * *

She's not sure how this happened.

She screwed the lid tight on the bottle like a good girl. She caught sight of the remote under the couch and turned on the TV for something to listen to.

There was a lot of nothing and a little too much static. Effy was quiet, mostly, and then…

And then she pounced and Katie thought she was trying to get the bottle again, but she wasn't – probably – because when Katie let go – when it rolled away to join the remote – Effy just kept on kissing her.

And now they're both naked from the waist up.

Katie is really angry with herself, but the good part is that she almost doesn't notice it, because she was so angry with Effy already.

The kisses are clear and wide. Effy's eyes are open every time Katie blinks the wrong way around, and it's a little too sweet – the spliff's still on her lips – and her lame-arse gothy rings keep getting stuck in Katie's hair and it's…

It's really not bad. It's really quite…

Katie lets her hands wander and soon there's a cheek and a thigh under them, and the small of a back maybe, and some stomach and the side of a breast – they can't seem to make up their mind where they want to stay, and her head feels light even though it was only one little swig, and every time she breathes in Effy's tongue comes with it.

When Katie's lips wander too, Effy speaks.

"Sometimes I think you're prettier than me."

She says it like it's a curiosity, and Katie snorts, shoots back "Sometimes I think you're a crazy bitch."

Effy laughs at that. She throws her head back and pulls Katie's along with the rings on her fingers.

Katie squeals and curses, untangles herself for the millionth time.

And then she's on top. And when she looks down there are tears in Effy's eyes, and she's saying "I really fucking love you," and it's completely melancholy.

Katie raises an eyebrow, leans down and strokes her hair out of her lips. "Yeah?" she says wryly. "Is that why you won't get in the bloody car?"

"Maybe," Effy says, and it's melancholy too.

She reaches up and trails her fingers over Katie's breasts, bumps her way down her ribs - one, two, three...

She frowns. She can't count it really. Because they hide, she thinks, softly.

Softly they hide from her.

Effy swallows. She tries to swallow the tears back into her eyes. She says "I'd be dead if you weren't here." She says "You're an angel."

Katie's eyebrows raise. She can't help smiling. She takes both of Effy's hands in hers with a sigh.

"Babe, I appreciate the sentiment, but if I was an angel, we'd be chilling in Heaven. Which means you _would_ be dead. And by the way, the fixation you have on that costume is getting kind of weird."

Effy grins. She squeezes Katie's fingers tight.

And then she looks like she's about to start crying again – properly crying this time – and Katie says "Eff, would you please get in the car for me?"

Effy nods. She lets Katie pull her up – but only so far.

They're sitting on the floor and Effy slips her arms round Katie's bare sides, rests her head on her bare shoulder.

"In a minute," she says, "just let me have a minute."

* * *

A minute is too long. Anthea walks in and by the time they've scrambled for their tops it's too late – she's seen everything – from the boobs to the booze.

She screams at them for about twenty seconds straight, and she's not quite done yet when Katie interrupts at an even higher volume.

"You're a fucking hypocrite!" she yells. "And you're one _miserable_ mother sometimes, did you know that?"

She grabs hold of Effy's hand and storms out of the house.

Effy's chuckling and sighing again.

She gives the finger to the door she's just slammed.


End file.
